The Osceola times., 1887-08-20
sAe didn't 80 any Bruno. TIL present.

Il
Jest plastered all over 18th maple-sirup
n lookin' so shamed and kinder sorr,
mother'd laughed 4 she hadn't biz
so mad at tn state she found thinqs
specially her best bed fer company. L
az jest nacherly ruined tween tn ma
ple-sirup n tn bar. When we como
ter c'pher il all out it w plain 'nough.
Thet blamed bar'rd got out o. the corn.
crib. Then he come moseyin' round
tn house t find some body t play 18th
him. n not tindin' nobody he'd gun
down suller e muse himself. He'd 90,
t foolin' round tn barrel o. maple
sirup till he'd got tn faucet loose n
tn sirup come a-pourin' out. Then
he'd jest put his mouth t it n drunk
till he'd got plum full, n all tn time
he'd been a-paddlin' in the sirup a-run-
min out on tn floor till he'd got daubed
all over 18th it. Bimeby he'd got sick
18th so much sweetnin', n then he ID
climbed in through thet open window
fer sympathy. n he'd pulled down 'bou,
every thin in tn house tryin' t find a
doctor. N when he couldn't find any
body he'd nacherly gone up stains T.
bed. like any invalid-he'd tuken many
nap in mothers beds afore. N no
amount o whippin' d ever cured him
o tn trick, N so mother found him
there, the sickest bear you ever saw.
Well. that wuz tn last O. Bruno. TIL
rest O. tn family sed he made most un-
common good eatin', bein' so nice n
fat, but | never had tn heart t find
out, n | never had an other pet bar ;"
"Were there any panthers in the
woods where you lived, grandpa?"
asked one of the boys, after the bear
story had been well digested.
"Plenty, plenty o. painters, but they
didn't come round ter git acquainted
very much, though. One o. those
blamed varmints did come once, N we
had all we wanted, eff he didn't stay
long-that, is, till he begun ter stay.
cause he could help himself. One fall
father n mother left us young folks
alone, N went off ter tn next settle
ment ter Methodist qusrt'ly meetin',
N Civ my next oldest brother general
charge O. tn family. They wuz gone
three nights. We wuzn't afraid n
he'd purity good times keepin' house
thout amy bosses. But tn third
night, long bout midnight. we heerd
a cry like child's. N purity soon it
came closer N closer N Tige n Bose,
our two big dogs, they gunter bark N
make a big fus. Purity soon Abe, my
biggest brother, got up out o. bed n
sed he knowed that wuz a painter come
up into tn clearin' ter git one o. our
yung pigs, n fer his part he wuzn't
goin' ter stand no such thievin'. Ef
that painter wanted fresh pork he'd
got ter fight fer it. Pigs wuz pigs, l
tell ye, N them days N mighty scarce
N kept close-that's tn reason tn
pig pen wuz so close { tn house. |
wuzn't only small chunk O. boy,
but | thought Abe was about right, N
| said I'd help. So we got down faith
er's big rifle from tn deer-horns
over the fire-place--it w alters loaded
IN stepped out careful into the yard.
1t wuz bright moonlight, n we could
see tn dogs jumpin' round under a big
tree thet father'd left standing near tn
house so s to give shade, their hair
jest standin' up straight, n both mad
IS they could be. They wuz old hunters
N fighters, n we know'd they wuz
more'n a 'possum up thet tree. Tn
pig-pen wuz atween tn tree n tn
house, n Abe sed he knowed they wuz
painter in the tree, N plannin' ter
jump down in tn pen n git one o. tn
new pigs, Tn old SOW wuz awful ex-
cited N gnashin' her teeth n threat
min what she'd do f she only got q
chance. We crep' along few feet
from tn house, N looked up in tn tree
purity careful. too-but didn't see
emmy thin for a long time, till at last
Abe sed, all excited like: Il see i'm! l
see inn n pointed out to me, N |
looked, N on big limb 7 reached over
lords tn house | see two sparks, 5 |
thought. Purity soon | saw a long
black body n long tail to it, N III
painter wuz switchin' il jest like a
big cat Abe he jest gritted his
teeth N sidled up to III corner o tn
house where one o. tn logs stuck out
where il wuzn't chopped off when they
built it, N laid tn old gun across it n
cooked it n begun ter take aim. l
crep' up ahind him N held my breath.
Tn dogs they'd got lots worse when
they saw us come ont t help 'em, N
bounced round like they wuz injun-rub-
Der. didn't know till father told me
afterwards thet them dogs did thet way
cause they wuz 80 sharp I they knowcd
ef they didn't the painter hopped onto
'en too quick, n they he'd sense enough
t. know that wasn't what they wanted
Jest then. Well, Abe he took a long
sight, waz holdin my breath, N
jest bout tn time I'd begun to think
he wuzn't ever goin' ter shoot N I'd
never get my breath back, bang she
vent Down come somethin' out o
tn tree, whack! on the ground. no ten
feet away from us, N fore could bat
my eyes tn two dogs ez onto it, n
they waz the biggest yeowlin', n
growlin', n spittin', n scratchin'. n
fightin' you ever heard n your born
days. IL looked like the whole clear
in was full o painter N dogs, n hair,
, :, f,,r - cl,p. Then the nainfor rive